The way it is for some people

Recently, I returned from a second visit to my dentist, who works “en el otro lado” – the other side. I live in Arizona, so that means across the border, in Mexico.

Emilia Saenz is a fine dentist, but her assistant, Jose, a gracious young man, is even finer, as far as I’m concerned. That’s because he’s fluent in English, having lived and worked in Detroit for five years before he was discovered “sin papeles,” and deported by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, usually called ICE. I learned those details about Jose on my first visit, along with other details -- that he's married, has a 3-year-old daughter and another baby on the way.

My spoken Spanish is decent, but my level of understanding what is said sometimes lags, especially with Dr. Saenz, an immigrant from Colombia, whose rapid Spanish sounded different to me. That made Jose’s presence in the room even more crucial as I suffered through a root canal.

Anyway, I liked Jose at once and marveled at his skill in anticipating Dr. Saenz’s demanding needs and at anticipating any discomfort I might feel. When his boss left the room, I asked Jose’s permission to pose some personal questions. The permission was granted, of course, which is one of the things I appreciate about Mexicans; they genuinely enjoy -- a great deal -- "heart-to-heart" conversations.

Our conversation went something like this

Me I’m curious how much does Dr. Saenz pay you?

He One thousand pesos a week. That’s about $80 a week in American money at current exchange rates.

Me For how many hours?

He Sixty.

Me You're earning only a little over a dollar an hour? How can you live on that?

He It's hard. We can get a little low on food.

Me Where do you live?

He In a small room with no windows that’s attached to my wife's brother’s house, so there's no rent to pay. The room has no heat. But we manage. I thought to myself, the temperature at dawn that morning was 32F.

Me You're excellent with your work here. Seems to me, you may have been “born” to it.

He Thanks.

Me I think you're underpaid.

He Well, I just feel lucky to have a job. And a thousand pesos a week is more than most workers here in Nogales earn, and that’s when they can find work. Jobs are scarce here.

Me What about your future?

He I want to emigrate to Canada. I can't go to the States, because I tried and was caught by the Border Patrol.

Me That might be a good idea. Canada needs skilled workers like you. Besides, you can fly there and enter without a visa.

He That's true. But first I need to save 13,000 pesos for the fare and for my wife's passport.

Me And that will be very hard to do?

He Almost impossible. Because saving 13,000 pesos is just like you saving $13,000.

I also learned that Jose walks two miles to and from work, six days a week, because he can’t afford to spend $48 pesos -- about $3.50 in the United States -- for bus fare every week. At first, I felt sympathy for Jose as he described his life. But sympathy seems such a patronizing word. As I thought about walking back across the border to drive to my home in Arizona, I realized that sympathy was the wrong response. Instead, I felt a strong desire to do something.

And so, before I left the dentist’s office, I gave Jose a tip that almost equaled his weekly salary. I did that, I suppose, because I’d also been poor. And because I had also become ambitious just like Jose. And because I also had had some help along the way.

On my way back home, I did my weekly shopping on this side of the border. Within two hours, I’d spent 1 and 1/2 times what Jose earns working his 60-hour week. When I arrived home, I was wildly welcomed by my two golden retrievers, whose daily sustenance almost equals Jose’s daily income.

Jack McGarvey is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). He lives in southern Arizona.

Note: the opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of High Country News, its board or staff. If you'd like to share an opinion piece of your own, please write Betsy Marston at [email protected].

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